Freight-car



(No Model.)

3 Sheets-'Sheet 1.

G. D. BENJAMIN.

Freight Car.

i Patented March 8,1881.

v m f m -5- 1 .rfr NJPETERS, PHoTo-HTNOGRAFMER, wASHlNGTCN, n C.

(No Model.)

Freight Car.

' Patented March 8,1881. Y

N.PETERS. PHOT0UTMOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.v

G. D. BENJAMIN.

Freight Car.

N5. 238,555. Patented March 8,1881.

IINTTED STATES AaTnNT Ormea.

GEORGE D. BENJAMIN, OF DIXON, ILLINOIS.

FREIGHT-CAR.

SPECIFICATION-forming' part of Letters Patent No. 238,555, dated March 8, 1881.

Application filed January 21, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE D. BENJAMIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dixon, in the county of Lee and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Freight vand Grain Gars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings, and to letters or figures ot' reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to freight or box cars, and it consists of an arrangement of the ioor or bottom of the. car by which an ordinary box-car can be at once converted into a graincar, and when 11o-lon ger needed as a grain-car may be reconverted into a box or freight ear;

and it further consists in the peculiar construcl. tion of the bottom of the said car, by whichI when used for the transportation of grain, the

contents can be discharged or unloaded in onetenth ot' the time now :required for the purpose; and, further, it consists in a series of gates at the bottom of the car, which, by their opening, allow the contents of the ear to be discharged; and it further consists in a lever attached to the above-named gates to open and close them, and arranged to look into the roof ot' the car, whereby the accidental opening ofthe discharge-gates in the bottom of the car is prevented.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures, Figure l is a sectional view of the car arranged as an ordinary freight-car. Fig. 3 shows the same converted into a grain-car. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section ofthe car on the line xy of FiO. l. Fig. 4

is a similar section on the line y of Fig. 2,-

and Figs. 5 to 14 are detail views.

I construct my cars of the usual materials and in the usual manner, except the Hoor and the hopper at the bottom, to be hereinafter described, which may be made of iron, or of wood, or of both, or of any other suitable material.

In the drawings, a represents a box-car, having thetloor b, which is made solid, and is immovably attached to the sleepers d for about r one-fth ot' its length at each extremity of the car. The remainder of the door is composed of the two leaves c, which are hinged to the solid parts ofthe floor and rest on the sleepers d. These leaves are so constructed that they can be turned back against the ends ot' the car to con vert it into a grain-car, as shown in Fig. As each leaf e is longer than the solid ends of the oor, when turned back it forms an incline, which permits the grain to run d own and to be discharged by its own weight when the gates below are opened.

To prevent t-he grain passing through cracks or openings where the leaves c impinge on the sides ofthe car, I place over them cross-boards m, (shown in detail iu Fig. 6,) having slots a, through which pass screws o, connecting them with the leaves of the bottom. The object Vof these slots is to allow the cross-boards to be moved up to tit snugly against the sides ofthe car and break the joints. d are the sleepers on which the bottom b and leaves c rest. These are made with rounded tops, as shown in FiO'. 12, to prevent the lodgment of the grain.

Below the body of the car and between the trucks is constructed a hopper, c, having ends and sides c tia-ring at the top and converging downward toward a point. The ends have the same inclination as the leaves c when turned up against the ends of the car, and form with them a continuous incline, and at the bottom ot' this hopper are a series of gates, ff, th rough which the contents of the car are discharged. The ends and sides of the hopper are sloped toward the bottom to permit the grain to pass outfreel y. These gates ff(repr,esen ted as three in the drawings) may be made ot' any number. They are connected with each other and with the safety-lever h by a series of hinged bars, g g, so that raising the lever to open one gate will open all. The gates may be made of wood or metal, usually ot' iron. They are hat, and they overlap each other, so that no grain can pass between them. They are hung at each end by pivotsf, as shown in detail in Fig. 9.

h is the safety-lever, which performs the double function of opening and closing` the gates and oflocking and securely fastening the same so that they cannot be opened by accident or from the outside a twmsz'tu. It is jointed, as shown at j in Figs. 9 and 13, so that it can be folded to lie in the hopper under the leaves IOO of the door when the car is used as a freightcar, as in Fig. l, and to enable the gates to be opened when the load is to be discharged.

To prevent the lever being accidently bent at the joint j when in use and the gates thus opened, I employ a metallic thimble, i, which passes over the joint and holds it in place. To prevent the lever falling the upper end is bent and passes through an iron frame, m', attached to the roof ofthe car, and shown more clearly in Figs. 9 and 10. This frame has an open space between its sides, through which the bent end of the lever passes, and an opening is made through these sides and the end of a lever to receive a screw, l, which locks the lever in place. The top of the frame m is made sloping at l', so that as the bent end of t-he lever is forced into the open space between the sides of frame m the incline Z will press the lever down against the gates and prevent their partial opening'.

s is the side door of the car, through which the grain is introduced; but to prevent the escape of the grain while loading I employ a device shown in Figs. l and 3, and sectionally in Figs. 7 and S, wherein i' represents a half-door, which is placed in lthe lower part of the opening s, either by sliding in grooves between the inner and outer boarding of the car p and q, asin Fin". 7, or held against shoulders by the pressure of the grain, as in Fie. 8.

In Fig. 5 is shown a device to prevent leakage at the ends ofthe gates f, where lo 7c represent iron battens along the ends of the gates to prevent the grain passing through the crevices at their extremities. These battens are attached to the gates like the hinge-bars g g, and rise and fall with them.

I design using these cars in connection with a device for conveying grain from cars to an elevator, which is made the subject of another application for Letters Patentnow pending; but they may be used independently of such' device.

Then the car is used as an ordinary boX or freight car the lever is folded into the space within the hopper below the iioor, and the leaves are let down, as shown in Fig. 1. When not used as a grain-car the half-doors r are stowed away in the hopper e, under the leaves of the iioor; but when it is designed to use as a grain-car the door s is opened, the lever is raised, the bent end is inserted in the frame m', the screw l is turned, the position of the lever and gates is then that indicated in Figs. 3 and 9, the haltdoor r is placed in position, and the grain introduced through the opening over the half-door r. The door s is then closed and secured. After the car-doors are closed the lever cannot become detached by accident, nor by the act of any person outside the car.

To discharge the grain, open the door s, turn the screw Z, and remove it from the lever, unhook the lever, slide up the thimble i, and raise the lever. This will open the gatesf, and the contents of the car will pass rapidly through the opening in the bottom of the hopper. The lever is jointed at its connection with the first hin ge-bar, g, and gate f, to enable it to be folded down in the hopper when the car is not used for the transportation of grain.

Fig. 11 shows the manner in which the lever may be bent at j, when the thimble i is raised, and Fig. 14 also shows the joint in the lever.

I am aware that coal-cars have heretofore been constructed with bottoms opening to discharge their contents. Thereforel do not broadly claiin such cars; but I am not aware this principle has ever been applied to grain-cars, nor have the other peculiarities of my construction been thus applied. Therefore,

What Iclaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a grain-car, the safety-lever h, coilstructed as described, for the purpose of opening and closing the dischargegates of the car, and for locking the said gates when the car is loaded with grain.

2. The combination, in a graincar, of the safety-lever h, the locking device l l m', and the discharge-gatesf, all as described.

3. In a convertible grain and freight car, the combination of the safety-lever L, provided with joint fand thimble fi, the locking device l l' m', the discharge-gates f, and the battens k, all as described.

4. In a convertible freight and grain car, the combination ot' the hopper e, the safety-lever h, the pivoted gates f, and hinge-bars g, all as described, and for the purposes specified.

5. In a convertible freight and grain car, the combination of the hopper c, discharge-gates f, and jointed lever h, adapted to be folded down within the hopper below the tloor ofthe car.

6. In a convertible freight and grain car, the combination of the leaves c, provided with the screws o, with the slotted side boards, m, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. D. BENJAMIN.

Witnesses J. GALES MOORE, IRVING G. ASHLEY.

IOO

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